>> god, please help us. >> reporter: it wasn't an act of god but a pipe burst, sending 45 to you gallons of water some 300 feet down a hill creating a massive mud fall that consumed more than a dozen cars. the owners could only watch as the cars were buried up to their windows. it turns out no houses were damaged. residents were let back in a few hours later. arturo ramirez said he and his wife are grateful it missed their home by a whisker. >> i told her, right upstairs, they are watching you. if the mud went the other way, my house and these houses are going to fall down. >> you can see the pipe shoot off. >> reporter: take a close look from chopper 5. officials say it was this cast iron pipe connected to a reservoir tank that broke off at 4:20 this morning. the pipeline was made in the 1930s. >> you know we have an aging system and pipes in the ground that are probably close or past use for life. that is not uncommon in the bay area. >> reporter: city officials say they do the best to shore them up or replace them as time and money allow but they admit there are other aging pipes in t